Swiss Alpine Marathon - Race Reviews

Several events and routes for this high altitude, alpine event. I did the new 'S42' which was 43km across two mountain passes. Rugged and tough, but well worth it. Price was high, but given that the organizers had to haul supplies and people to remote mountain pass aid stations, costs are reasonable. Nice T-shirt and medal at the finish line. Would recommend this to others.

Tough for a flatlander, but worth it. Altitude changes added an hour to my usual time, but felt really SAD not to be running the 78K at race end just because I wanted to see the views.

Covering 42K over two mountain peaks (both at roughly 2,600 meter), the Swiss Alpine Marathon is a brutal initiation to trail running. There were very few people in the competition that actually "ran" the entire distance - most of them walked fast while they were climbing hills and then ran when they were going downhill. The total altitude change was +1890 M/-1710 M, which at least allowed for some great views of the surrounding Swiss Alps. The races within the Swiss Alpine marathon (8 total) are dispersed among two separate long-distance trails near Davos, Switzerland and are dividing according to their distances. We ran the K42 race, which is the second toughest trail in all the competition (the toughest race was the K78, which covered the same ground plus an extra 36K). My wife and aunt ran on the other shorter distance trail, which only reached 1,631M at its highest point. The toughest part of the race was the ascent to the second peak. Although it was very similar to the first ascent, I was not physically prepared for two lung-busting ascents over the distance of a marathon. The fatigue factor during the final 16K (it was all downhill) was so great that I spent most of it walking quickly. It took almost seven hours for me to complete the entire race. On a final note, the windbreaker that everyone received for participating in the race was of very low quality. The colors were nice, but the material felt too light and the stitching was poor. The T-shirt associated with the race was also mediocre (the organizers sold them separately). The disappointments came from the poor choice of colors on the shirt (gray and orange) and the fact that it was made entirely of polyester.

I ran the half-marathon, but I imagine much of this would apply equally to the full marathon and the 76K (other than the obvious differences). The scenery is absolutely stunning - readymade for postcards. You get to see snow-capped mountains, down into valleys, mountain streams and waterfalls you can drink out of. The race course itself is very tough. In the half-marathon, about 12 KM are uphill, of which the first 5 KM constitute a non-stop ascent. The half-marathon has virtually no descents. Some portions of the race are on a very nice mountain trail, but in some places you run on (and sometimes climbing and clawing up) rocks and tree roots. Add to this the high altitude and significant elevation gain during the race. All of this makes it a very tough race. That's sort of the whole point. Because of these features, both the year I ran it and the year before, the winner in men's was a local. Another nice thing is that this is not an out-and-back race. You take a special runners' train to the start and then run back to the finish. Another nice touch is that if you signed up for the race well enough in advance, your bib number has your name on it. On the flip side, the race is not organized in an exceedingly user-friendly way. For example, there are only 3 aid stations for the half-marathon distance and none of them served sports drinks: your choice is water, tea (?) and banana halves. There were also only 3 distance markers at 15, 10, and 5 KM to the finish. Finally, the organizers seemed to either discourage or at least not encourage spectators to travel to various portions of the race course. Although it is, at it turns out, quite easy to drive to the start (to which runners are required to take a special train) or several mid-points, race organizers will have you believe that the only way to get there is to take a sequence of regional buses. As a result of this and also the fact that the race IS in the mountains, spectators are pretty sparse. But those who are out are extremely enthusiastic. People ring cowbells, yell, "Hop, hop, hop," and some spectators and restaurants set up their own 'aid stations'. Finally, as part of the race you have to cross a road a couple of times - each time over a rickety make-shift bridge constructed out of scaffolding. Bottom line: the uniqueness of the race makes it well worth it.

This marathon is DANGEROUS!!! There are some very steep and treacherous descents on ankle-turning rocks, boulders and mud. Many K42ers finished the course bloodied. On the plus side, there are plenty of drinks/food stations where you take take a break from looking at your feet and enjoy the stunning views. Great support from the sparse spectators - I love the cowbells and the hop, hop, hops.

This is a unique and phenomenal marathon experience. I ran the K42 option, which is primarily a trail run through some magnificent alpine terrain. It's a tough course with a lot of walking up the steep rocky trails, but if you take your time to enjoy it, it will be an unforgettable experience. Bring a camera and take pictures along the way. Since the course elevation ranges from 1500M up to 2600M, I recommend that runners coming from near sea level arrive a few days in advance to acclimate. I hope to go back next year and do the K78.

Ran the full as my third marathon, and the experience was the best. Superb scenery, marathon support and spectators. The weather was perfect and it made for a great vacation in Switzerland!

This was my fifth marathon experience and I chose to run the K21 due to the challenging terrain. It must be said that everything from the start number pick-up to the pre-marathon festival to the weather was spot on. The organization was straightforward, and the transportation to the start was clearly documented and well organized. The train arrived at the picture-perfect Buen Bridge 10 minutes before the start, and the scene was set. The course itself was dramatic and beautiful. Starting with a steep ascent, the course followed a similar pattern for the first 11K. The ascents were steep and the descents were equal. Only after the halfway point did the route become gentler, and the rolling hills were a welcome break from the leg-breaking hills of the first half. Finishing on a decent running track was a nice touch, and the finish area was well organized and there was beer available (non alcoholic, which should be changed to Heineken next year). I noticed a lot of runners were stopping en route to take photos, and there were occasionally some bottlenecks that resulted in some delays. That is the only negative point. I shall return next year to try the C42. I would highly recommend this race and mountain experience to everybody.

Of 43 marathons I have run, this ranks tied for the best with NYC. I loved running the mountain trails... with the patches of snow, the long dark tunnels, the wildlife, the clear mountain streams, and the waterfalls. This certainly is a challenging course, especially with all the steep grades, but it is well worth it. The organization was excellent also. They even include rail passes as part of registration. They are to help you get to the race... and they will even airmail them to you. My only suggestion for improvement is for the C42 race (there are a total of 6 simultaneous races that day). First, reroute the finish so you don't have to finish the last 2K on a steep uphill. Secondly, the shuttle busses at the finish line were too few and far between.

If you love tall Swiss Alps, mountain air, sweeping green pastures and the cows that go with them, rambling rivers, and plenty of young children waving their national flag and encouraging you in three different languages... then here it is. I did the "easier" C42 marathon course and the scenery never let up on this all-trail course. There are four or five decent-sized inclines on this course, but unlike Jungfrau you actually get to go back downhill again. The C42 had about 250 runners; however, there are later-starting 28K and 21K races that share the last part of the same course, so towards the last 10K there are faster runners from those two races that you have to share some narrow parts of the course with. The race finished on a track near the sports arena amongst a very boisterous crowd in the town of Davos. The quality of the finisher's medal was excellent. I've now done 18 marathons in Europe (including Rome, Berlin, Jungfrau, Lausanne, Zurich, Dublin) and 84 marathons overall. This lands just behind Boston and Grandma's Marathon for my best overall marathon experience.

Awesome race. One of the best marathons in the world, probably; the scenery is incredible the crowd is very supportive and proud of that race. It is really, really hard but to finish it is an accomplishment, and this finisher medal has an incredible flavor at the end. The only bad point I can find is the entry cost: 135 Swiss Francs. But what a race! :-0

Incredible scenery and wonderful crowd support - altogether just a stunning race.

I've run serveral marathons, but nothing compares to this one. A warning to the wise: Do not run this as an amateur! Davos is set within the Swiss countryside and is absolutely gorgeous. Included in your registration package is an unlimited train travel pass for the local region. The local people are very friendly and helpful. The race itself is grueling. You travel by train from Davos to the start in Bergun. From there the adventure begins! You encounter, gently rolling hills at first then it becomes a gentle upward climb which turn into astonishingly steep mountain slopes. At times you are 'running' at a 75 degree angle! You will encounter sunshine, rain, snow, ice, grazing swiss cows, helicopters that are patrolling the area for injured runners (the terrain is very dangerous especially at the peaks of the mountians with icy snow and rocky running paths). The stops along the way are absolutely stellar with live swiss long-horn music, beer, boullion soup, snack bars, bananas etc. In fact, if I ever run this marathon again, I will take the time to stop, relax and enjoy the rest areas even more! You will need all the rest you can get to finish this race. If you plan to run this and want some more information, feel free to drop me a line at: crazy_canadian_runner@shadnet.shad.ca

A great first marathon experience. For those that are not interested in street races and love (I mean really love) broken trail running, this is the race. The people, support and food (even beer at one stop!) were great. A strange experience to feel like a whimp running a mountain marathon as an equal number of people go 78K! The swiss are animals!

After 10 street marathons, I wanted to run an alpine marathon in Davos. One good advice, never run this marathon as a debutant, don't do it! The alpine part is very hard to run and sometimes you just have to walk because running is impossible. The difference in level after 15 kilometers is more than 1 kilometer! You can start with sunshine and after a few kilometers you run in the snow. You find the spectators in the beginning and at the end of the course, of course not in the middle because that's the alpine part where only the emergency helicopters control this part. It's not a good idea to stop or to have an accident in this part, if so...then you have a big problem! You have to be a little bit crazy to run a marathon, but to run this marathon, you have to be a little bit more crazy...that's why they call it the crazy peak marathon!!